Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan on Sunday sought
support from other government ministers to add a stipulation to any
policy decision regarding the expected electricity shortages this
summer.

Paragraph-1 Contains

Erdan said that he wishes to add a clause to the agreement
stipulating that if any electricity service needs to be temporarily
stopped, such temporary outages should be implemented in Hamas-
controlled Gaza, before affecting the power supply to residents of
Israel.

Paragraph-2 Contains

Erdan made it clear that the stipulation is not meant to be a
sanction against Gaza, nor its residents, but simply a logical step
toward the philosophy of putting "the poor of your own city first."

Paragraph-3 Contains

Erdan said that it is not reasonable to reduce the power supply to
residents of Israel in the event of a shortage, while continuing to
supply power to Gaza, from which Israel disengaged roughly seven
years ago, and is no longer responsible for what goes on within its
borders.

Paragraph-4 Contains

Erdan noted in his letter to government ministers that experts in the
field predict that a power shortage this summer is unavoidable, and a
schedule of regulated, intentional power outages will need to be
implemented.

Paragraph-5 Contains

Erdan pointed out that according to a study conducted by the
Environmental Protection Ministry, Israel exports roughly 4.5% of
electricity it generates to the Palestinian Authority. Thus Erdan
suggests that if even after all countermeasures are in place,
periodic stoppages of electricity need to be implemented, such
outages should be felt in Gaza before in Israel.